Month: July 2018

Love of the Game Features Rare Offering, Additional New York Sports Team Memorabilia in Summer 2018 Auction

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J., July 23, 2018 – The 1955 World Series Champion ring given to Don Zimmer as a Brooklyn Dodgers player has returned to the New York area as a featured item in Love of the Game Auctions’ (LOTG’s) upcoming summer auction.

“The 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers is one of the mostly widely collected post-war teams,” noted LOTG’s Al Crisafulli, president of the Hackettstown-based, internet sports auction house. “That was first time the Dodgers won the World Series – and the only time as a New York team. After losing the Series to the Yankees five times, the Dodgers finally beat them in seven games. The win was so powerful that the team is still one of the most popular of all-time.”

With a major league career spanning more than six decades, Zimmer was a player during the Dodgers’ famed 1955 season and later served as a manager and coach for numerous American and National League teams – including the Mets and Yankees. “Don Zimmer is one of baseball’s most beloved figures and a true New York sports icon,” Crisafulli said.

World Series rings come to market infrequently in the sports memorabilia arena, which adds to their value, according to Crisafulli. In June 2018, a 1955 World Series ring originally belonging to a clubhouse attendant sold at auction for $45,000. Last year, the ring presented to 1955 Dodgers Team Manager Walter Alston sold at auction for $70,000.

“We expect the Zimmer ring to garner significant interest,” Crisafulli said. “It previously was sold by a Zimmer family member to a private collector, who consigned it to an auction 14 years ago. It has since made its way to a private collector in Florida, who consigned it for our summer auction.” Crisafulli added that, based on increasing market value for like items, the ring’s upcoming sale price is expected to meet or exceed $65,000 – besting its 2004 auction price of $45,000.

LOTG’s summer auction will open in late July and run through August 11. The Zimmer ring will share the spotlight with an impressive lineup of memorabilia from New York sports teams. This includes the oldest-known photo of Babe Ruth (from 1914), Gil Hodges’ 1959 Gold Glove award, and a Roger Maris game-used bat from the 1963 season, along with a variety of New York – and other – player trading cards, signed baseballs, autographs and more. For more information, visit loveofthegameauctions.com.